Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2009-90832 discloses a shade device that includes shade panels, which are slidably provided on the inner side of a sunroof opening. The shade panels each have a light blocking pattern. The publication states that moving the shade panels as necessary provides aesthetic visual effects and changes light transmittance.
The shade device of Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2009-90832 requires not only shade panels, but also rails for guiding the shade panels. This not only increases the number of components, but also requires spaces for installing the shade panels and the rails, which reduces the space of the passenger compartment. Further, a structure in which shade panels are moved at positions corresponding to a sunroof as in the above publication cannot cover the entire opening of the sunroof unless shade panels having sizes greater than or equal to the size of the sunroof are used. Also, shade panels that are not cumbersome may fail to properly block light.